I am still in what my friend calls the “New Year Purge Vortex.” The NYPV is not STD. It happens when you de-twinkle after the holidays…when you make space, clear the clutter, feel sad about having to put away the sparkle and then declare you’re going to make your own sparkle.
Now, this is all very ambitious as I am still in my pajamas. Also, I’m having trouble discerning between my juices. I mean, between my juiced juicer juice and my fermented grape juice. But this de-cluttering, this NYPV-ing, it can happen at any time.
Like, when you stand staring at something for a minute and suddenly it’s all “If I put this here and that there and what is that, anyway?" And, "I don’t need this at all…or that either and why do I still have this and is this a wire hanger? What the hell am I doing with wire hangers? I’ve seen Mommie Dearest 147 times. I know better.”
Five minutes later, I have half a bag of why-do-I-still-have-this ready for someone to claim (let them wonder in 5 years why they’ve received the half a bag of why-do-I-still-have-this) and I’ve organized like a ninja boss, which means I get to do the ninja-boss dance. It involves high kicks and is very ambitious.
I love it when organization sneaks up on me like that. It doesn’t have to be a big production. It doesn’t have to be a whole day. It doesn’t have to be dreaded and eye-rolled and avoided and procrastinated. It can be just five minutes. The French have a word for this. They say “five minoots.” You’d be surprised at what you can accomplish in five minoots.
So I say, the next time you’re in your closet and you feel the urge to rearrange or organize or just curl up and sleep it off (you know you’ve done it), go with it. But do come out again. There’s no reason to stay in there, no matter how organized it might be.
